Leaf-footed Bug

Nine species of Leptoglossus have been recorded from Florida. L. phyllopus can almost always be separated from the other species by the character of the elytral crossbar (on the corium). L. phyllopus is the only pertinent species having the bar straight and entire. The bars of the other species usually vary from zigzag bands to faint dots or no marks at all. One possible exception is the rarely collected Leptoglossus ashmeadi Heidemann, a species that breeds in mistletoe. This species has an unusually broad, orange crossbar, compared to the narrower white or pale yellow bar in L. phyllopus. Furthermore, L. ashmeadi has prominent orange-yellow margins on the pronotum not found in L. phyllopus. L. zonatus is most easily distinguished from other Florida Leptoglossus spp. by the presence of two large whitish-yellow spots on the anterior portion of the pronotum. It sucks the sap from the cones of various coniferous trees.